


Shrine Photos

by mothercetrion



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games), Mortal Kombat - All Media Types
Genre: BIG ONES, Gen, Grief/Mourning, just saying, mk11 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 17:42:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18945766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothercetrion/pseuds/mothercetrion
Summary: Kuai Liang had new pictures to add to the Lin Kuei shrine. (MORTAL KOMBAT 11 SPOILERS)





	Shrine Photos

**Author's Note:**

> I'll say it again. MAJOR Mortal Kombat 11 spoilers in this fic.

Bi-Han had sat center of the shrine for as long as Kuai Liang could remember.

He was in his twenties when the picture was taken. It was a portrait-esque photo, his face serious but his eyes filled with a sparkle only Kuai Liang could see. It was taken for a reason Kuai Liang could not remember, but he knew that Bi-Han was displeased about it. Kuai Liang remembered making a face behind the camera, as he was still rather young and had his immature moments, which made Bi-Han laugh the second after the photo was taken.

The framed photo was adorned with a blue ribbon and surrounded by candles, and at least one of them was lit at all times. Kuai Liang couldn’t remember the last time all of the candles were dim. The candles helped him cope.

He felt as though he had moved on. Not fully, but enough to not cry. He couldn’t remember the last time he cried over his brother’s death.

He also couldn’t remember how long it had been since he needed to frame a new picture. Or two.

On the left of Bi-Han would sit Frost. Kuai Liang’s secret favorite student, the one with the most skill, the most heart, the most desire to be the greatest.

Such wasted potential. That’s all Kuai Liang could think.

She could have led the Lin Kuei with ease when she was older and more mature and when Kuai Liang could not lead them. She was always certain of what she wanted, and even though her methods were not the greatest, she meant well. Always.

She was often playful when in the right mood and would push every one of Kuai Liang’s buttons that she could find. But she had a good heart when she wanted to show it. She had often checked on the Grandmaster during his low times. She very frequently apologized for nearly killing his Shirai Ryu ally during tea, once he told her it was wrong.

Her frame had a white ribbon on it. She was smiling in the photo, grinning from ear to ear in delight. It was her birthday when it was taken. It was a wonderful day; there was no better memory to be put on the shrine. Kuai Liang would miss her very much.

On the right of Bi-Han would sit… Kuai Liang did not even want to think of it. It was not because of his troubled and difficult past with the individual; it was because he did not want to accept that he was gone.

On the right of Bi-Han would sit Hanzo.

Kuai Liang would never have imagined that Hanzo would ever decide to be his ally. It was a damn miracle.

Kuai Liang remembered when they finally had tea at his temple. Hanzo was hesitant, but Frost was away, and things went peacefully. They chatted. They laughed. Kuai Liang felt himself smile properly in a long while. He also saw Hanzo smile for the first time since they had met. It was one of the better days Kuai Liang had ever had.

They wrote letters to one another often, as they did not have phones. The more they wrote, the closer they became. Eventually, Hanzo ended one of his letters asking if he could consider Kuai Liang a friend. The Grandmaster was beyond accepting.

The picture was one that Hanzo never knew was taken. Never would know. He had been talking about a fond memory of his wife when Kuai Liang snuck a picture with his camera. He was smiling softly and looked happy to be alive. He was curled up on furniture and barefoot, casual and comfortable. It was a rare sight to see, and Kuai Liang wanted to capture the moment.

As he framed the photo, he was grateful to himself for that day. Heartbroken, but grateful.

A yellow ribbon to match the Shirai Ryu, with an arguably better frame than the others on the shrine. He didn’t even notice until he compared the three.

It was raining the day the photos were put up. Hard. He wasn’t wearing his armor; he hadn’t worn his armor since the day Frost died. He didn’t even bother to put on shoes, his feet slipping on the wet concrete several times.

Kuai Liang kept himself together as he put Frost’s frame up on the sheltered shrine. His hands trembled as Hanzo’s face filled his vision, and then suddenly, his view was blurry with tears.

It was then that he realized he hadn’t cried once since they died.

Of course he was sad. He was beyond sad at the losses. Two people he was both close to and fond of, both dead within days. But he was so focused on destroying Kronika, fixing timelines, to even mourn. Johnny had even asked him if he was okay, because he _knew_ that Kuai Liang hadn’t cried. He knew that he had faced severe losses but was not taking care of himself. He pushed him away and said that he was fine. He didn’t have time to mourn yet, but he would. Eventually.

But when he stepped back from the shrine and began to light the candles, he felt his heart finally shatter into a million pieces. The candles were all lit when Kuai Liang fell to his knees and felt a sob rise to his throat.

Every memory he had ever shared with the two flooded his mind at once. Meeting Frost, meeting Hanzo, training Frost with her first ice ball, the first time he heard Hanzo laugh. Sparring, tea, jokes, happiness. All of it. Everything he had ever done with them in his line of sight.

Despite the happy memories, they only hurt him further.

He finally let a sob escape him. How could he have been unable to save them? _One_ of them? He was foolish for not even trying. He wished he could go back and warn them, tell them of their eventual fates and tell them to do something different. He wished _he_ could do something different.

But he couldn’t. And they were dead.

“I—I am so sorry,” he choked out, his hands clasped together. “I want to fix things. This—This is not what I wanted. I wanted things to be different.” He gasped for air, sputtering as another sob escaped. “I-I am so—so sorry.”

Who was he speaking to? Frost? Hanzo? Bi-Han? He didn’t know. But it didn’t matter. His feelings stayed the same.

He lost track of how long he sat there and cried. Minutes, hours maybe. Who knew? But no matter the time, he eventually lowered his hands and squeezed his eyes shut and pushed his final tears out. He finally opened his eyes and climbed to his feet with shaking legs.

“Forgive me for letting you all die.”


End file.
